


Time and Time Again

by Evekle



Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Cranks are smarter than you think, Everyone Needs A Hug, Fluff and Angst, Homura style, M/M, Thomas is free, Thomas is starting to give up, Time Travel, Trains are not good, Victory is hard won, Water isn't nice, really angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-03-29 02:49:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13917795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evekle/pseuds/Evekle
Summary: It's a time traveller Thomas AU from tmr discord chat. In this work, Thomas is given the ability to go back a repeat the same events over and over again until he saves everyone. Drawing inspiration from Homura's ability in PMMM and what it could do to a character.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was not supposed to be so angst filled. It was supposed to be a fic on the ways in which Newt lives through parallel universes and it became this. It was fun exploring the drag it would have on Thomas and seeing what he would become.
> 
> *Note: this is not for the faint of heart. It gets really dark. Readers be warned, and now you may enjoy the fic. *

Controlling time wasn’t the best thing imaginable, it took a whole lot of patience just to understand _how_ the system worked. And this system was convoluted and just straight up frustrating, it was Russian Roulette when going back to change things. Thomas had been trying to fiddle around with the spell until he could go back however far he wanted in his set location. This meant that he needed to go back to the remains of Denver if he wanted to subvert what had happened a month ago in the City and he did. Thomas had gone through the exact week around five times now with no sense of victory. The universe seemed bent on having him seeing the same nightmares again and again.

                                                               

* * *

 

Within the earlier runs of the week, Thomas starts to notice how he acts around Newt, he’s more open to the blonde than anyone else. Then he notices how he seems so handsy with his friend, it’s odd how he only acts that way when he’s around Newt. More than anything, Thomas wants to see Newt in Paradise, to see the ocean with him. So he tries everything, trying all the possible combinations until he can get the barrel without the bullet in this game of Russian Roulette. It turns out it doesn’t matter, Newt always gets the Flare. The urge to confess his feelings are overwhelming, but he can’t get himself to say it, not when they’re stuck in the loop of never seeing the relationship prosper and grow.

                                                                      

* * *

 

Thomas confesses in one timeline, one of many, before Newt is stripped away from his side as they go through hell. It’s the one night within the entire week when he was finally _finally_ able to hold this boy in his hands. For the entire night, they just talk about everything they can think of. Thomas asks Newt about life in the Glade before he arrived, and learns the basic history of the place. In exchange, he tells Newt about Paradise, where everyone is free and without a care in the world. As the night progresses, Thomas occasionally feels his heart beat a little bit faster when Newt’s eyes light up before letting out a carefree laugh. He wants these night to last forever, just put the moment on standstill and never greet the sun of the next day. That night, they always fall asleep beside each other in the same bed.

 

The next days of those timelines are fires burning, building collapsing, the sound of people yelling is drowning everything, he can’t think. They’re so close to the Cure, and maybe just maybe no one has to die this time around. It’s in the moment when Thomas feels the sense of victory when everything falls apart, Newt collapses from the Flare and then the blonde has a knife in him the next second. Thomas doesn’t think for a second, he resets and he’s back in the meeting room again. The feeling of being in hell never seems to end for Thomas. He never confesses again.

 

* * *

 

He tries to stay near the original as much as possible now. No more confessions, it hurts too much. The deviations creates too many changes and it gets worse each time.

 

This time around, he has managed to get Newt to the WCKD compound and the boy gets the Cure. It was at that moment when Thomas felt that just maybe, he was able to save Newt. There was hope and then it was swiftly crushed by the falling building. Teresa makes the jump, he _begs_ her to go onto the Berg. And there’s only Thomas and Newt on the rooftop. He tries to get the other boy to jump, _jump_ away from the building. Thomas doesn’t even care if he has to go down with the building, he just has to save the others. Newt straight up refuses and thrusts Thomas onto the Berg instead. Thomas doesn’t think, he resets.

 

* * *

 

Another timeline. This time Newt shoots himself in the head instead. Reset.

 

* * *

 

He can’t see it happen again. Thomas resets the moment he sees Newt take out the knife, it’s too late.

 

* * *

 

The Newt in the newest timeline tells him that he seems different, there’s something off about how Thomas is acting. Says he’s been colder, much more isolated and doesn’t seem to communicate as much. Thomas gets it, it’s the drag of seeing the same deaths over and over again. He’s gotten ruthless, killing Janson at the first opportunity he gets within every loop. Saving Newt becomes his first priority as the repeats continue.

 

This time around, he can’t save Newt from death. The knife goes through his friend’s ribs and the other boy collapses, and he resets.

 

* * *

 

Another repeated death, another reset.

 

* * *

 

There's a strange pattern of how the events occur. Teresa’s death is only set in action if Newt dies. Thomas keeps it in mind, as he resets the time again. This time Newt is killed early by the Flare, and he's forced to reset again.

* * *

 

Thomas slowly feels as if he's fighting a losing battle. The week stays the same as before Newt always dies no matter what. Occasionally Minho or Gally die as well, he can't save everyone. Each night, he sees the bodies of everyone he cares about and it becomes no surprise that he has insomnia in the later timelines. At this point, he has no idea how many times he has gone through the same week. He keeps trying, _there has to be a way to save everyone!_ He tells himself after another failure of a timeline.

 

* * *

 

Thomas is sick and tired of repeating the loop over and over again. It's seems like he's trying to dry up an entire ocean with a spoon. At this point, he's contemplating whether or not he should give up. _One more go, then I stop resetting time,_ he mutters to himself before confronting Newt on the roof. This ends up becoming one more then two more resets, before Thomas knows it, he's reset another fifteen times.

 

The idea that he can save Newt and Teresa is burned into his brain, _there's chance I can save them in the next loop,_ is what keeps him going back time and time again. The phrase is the drug that keeps him resetting even though deep down, he knows it’s impossible. The goal was always simple, now it's so _so_ close again. He tries to not have it slip by him again, but the same events play out. Another reset happens.

 

* * *

 

Thomas doesn’t know how many times he’s reset the entire week, all he knows is that he’s nowhere close to where he wants to be. The deaths stop feeling like deaths and it’s become a game. The goals simple but unattainable all the same. Despite this, Thomas doesn’t stop. He _can’t_ get himself to stop. At the same time, he’s become distant to the Newts in the timelines, sure it’s acting out of character for him, but empathy has caused nothing but pain for him.  So he keeps trying again and again.

 

* * *

 

Thomas isn’t giving up, not when there’s a chance he can save those who’ve died. So he continues to reset until he saves _everyone_.

  
  
  
  



	2. Trains are not good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a short oneshot that will indefinitely make you hate trains, also yeah the deleted scene gave me the idea. It's just a more angst. Based on the train deleted scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this in like 30 minutes. Yeah, fun times. Someone give Thomas a hug. Also count downs as those are fun. The Duke of Angst has not left their post, not yet anyways. This was really fun to write though!

Out of all the timelines, this one feels different. As if something was going to happen, a terrible event brewing underneath the surface. It starts off simple enough, just like any other timeline, but the problem arrives right after they meet Lawrence. See, Thomas didn’t have problem with the guy, it was the train. Always the train. 

 

They’re back in the damn sewers, everything stinks. There’s squeaks everywhere, and the sound of scurrying creatures. It’s rats, everywhere. And then they’re out from the water. Looking back and forth, Thomas is glad that everything seems to be relatively normal in this timeline. 

 

Of course once they reach the train tracks everything goes to hell. The first train passes, and they’re running on the tracks, going as fast as they can. For a few seconds everything seems fine, there’s no train anywhere in sight. Thomas starts to count, no need to yell to Gally as to why the hell they’re running. 

 

_ Five. _

He starts to over take Newt, bad idea, so he lags behind a bit. Staying just behind the blond, it’s harder than he thinks. Gally starts calling for them to go faster and Thomas decides to say shuck it. What are the odds that things could go wrong, Newt’s not going to die here. It’s too early, so he runs. 

 

_ Four.  _

 

There’s the vibration of the train starting to get louder. It’s nearly here, looking back, Thomas sees Newt grab onto his infected arm.  _ Everything is going to be fine. Everything is going to be alright.  _ Thomas repeats to himself. 

 

_ Three.  _

 

The lights of the next train are getting closer. Lights are flashing around them. Rumbling getting louder and louder. Thomas can hear the screeches of the wheels grinding against the metal rails. It’s coming. 

 

_ Two.  _

 

He and Gally have reached the exit from the rails. Taking a quick a glance he sees Newt fall to the ground, the train’s headlights are beams pointing towards Newt. The blond is a deer in the headlights, he can’t move. As if on cue, Gally’s rushing ahead of him. Everything seems to go along the original. 

 

_ One.  _

 

The train comes, screeching through the small corridors. Thomas closes his eyes, he doesn’t need to see this over and over again. He’s seen this happen so many times that he doesn’t really care. Newt and Gally always live beyond this point. The train passes and he can breath. 

 

Thomas has never regretted being so confident about what’s going to happen. Instead of seeing his friends getting up, there’s a pile on the rails. And Thomas can’t breath,  _ no no  _ **_no_ ** _ , it can’t have happened.  _ No matter how many times he tries to calm himself, he can’t. 

 

Gally and Newt are dead.  _ Gone. _

 

And he’s forced to reset, from that point forwards he never assumes anything again. 


	3. Crank Tunnel? How about no.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 3 because my hand slipped. The Tunnel is now Thomas' new enemy. Also never go for an extra day, it's not worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's a part 3 for this fic since I got a list of ideas. I have no idea how long this fic might get, as long as it takes to get through the list. Keep in mind, the Crank Tunnel isn't very nice. Next updates going to include water. Water is not going to be nice. 
> 
> Have fun reading!

Thomas always knew one month wasn’t enough. It’s too short, a blink of an eye and it’s over. Five days to prevent death from occurring. Leaving Denver seems impossible, so the first time in who knows how long, he goes back for an extra day. Another day to plan, to stop death from happening in this timeline. He’s played this game far too long. 

 

It doesn’t go as planned.

 

The initial plan had been to have an extra day as they are in the car heading to the Last City. What he doesn’t expect is for the tunnel to be a drag, seeing how the car seems to flip on random every single time. Initially, it always landed on it’s side or the face down. Everyone always gets out scout free every time. It’s a constant for these types of timelines. This time, it isn’t different this time. Thomas takes a deep breath, good, he’s going to be able to plan with this extra day. 

 

It’s dark and everything is wet in the tunnel. There’s no need to worry Thomas tells himself, everything’s going to be alright. The car flip is a constant. Everything goes as planned as they continue deeper into the dark abyss, the only source of light being the headlights and Newt’s torch. 

 

_ “ _ Why hello there! Let me in _ , let me in  _ **_let me in!_ ** _ ”  _

 

There’s a crank at the car windows, banging and pleading for them to open the doors. Frypan pushes hard on the gas, they jolt forward in a flash. The cranks are left behind, they’re safe for the moment. It seems fine, then the car flips, just as Thomas expects it.

“Everyone alright?” he asks. 

“I’m fine. Fry?” 

“Alright over here!”

It’s a stupid question by how far he’s gone with these questions but what he’s learned from the Train was to  _ never  _ assume anything at all. Better safe than sorry seeing how anything could go wrong at any given moment. Cracking open the glass of the rear side window, he’s able to crawl out and into the crank infested tunnel. Thomas follows usual track, around the car to open the door for Newt and Frypan, it seems fine for a few moments until he hears a familiar cranks voice.  _ It wasn’t supposed to be so soon.  _ There’s usually a few moments before the cranks arrive but in this timeline, the infected people are on them in a minute. He can see them running in the distance and yanks on the door. It flies open. 

 

“Guys, let’s go!  _ Let’s go! _ ” 

Looking back, he sees the cranks approaching, shouting as it comes. There’s a horde of silhouettes behind this first crank in red. Everything is coming so fast,  _ so much faster than before _ . One moment the creature is a yard away and the next it’s around two hundred meters away. Newt’s out of the car and they’re both yelling at Frypan to hurry up. The cranks get closer by the second. 

 

Right before reaching them, he grabs Newt’s wrist and they run. Thomas hears Frypan yelling something about going  _ faster _ . He doesn’t think anymore, all he thinks is waiting out the clock. They just need to outrun them for a few more seconds, then Brenda and Jorge are going to arrive. Just a bit longer. 

 

That’s when things go downhill and  _ fast _ , they’re surrounded. On one end of the tunnel, there’s a horde of cranks and likewise on the other. The howling gets louder as the cranks get closer by the second. So they start firing, trying to take out as many as possible, trying to buy a few more precious moments. Fry runs out of bullets first, then Newt and he has a few more rounds left before they’re at the mercy of these ‘creatures.’

 

Then he hears two more gunshots off, it’s not from any of them. For a brief second Thomas thinks he sees headlights but it’s not. There’s a crank holding a rifle, it’s not pass the Gone yet. And then he sees who the crank shot, Newt and Frypan are on the ground, slowly bleeding away. He tries to fire, there’s no bullets left.  _ When  _ he ran out is the last thing on his mind. 

 

And Thomas resets. This game is killing him.


	4. Water Isn't Nice Either

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas starts to hate water. He wants to give up seeing how things aren't going as they should.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok this is way overdue but I finally got it done. So updates may occur with no schedule, seeing how I want this fic to be of good quality of angst.
> 
> Comments and kudos are much appreciated!

 

    He never hated water, it was necessary for life after all. This timeline’s water, however, doesn’t seem quite right. It’s too dark, too thick to resemble water, to summarize it, the water doesn’t seem right. Yet despite the worry, everything goes as the original, no major changes this time around. Though, he does resist derailing the train, it still bugs him every time it passes, even though the train incident doesn’t happen again. Better safe than sorry. 

 

    This time they’re in the WCKD complex, corridors going left, right and all around. Thomas groans, despite how many times he’s gone through this place, it’s another maze in of itself. You’d really think that after over seventy timelines he’d be able to memorize the damn place, but he hasn’t. Teresa still has to lead them through, it’s a few more turns and then there’s Minho appearing right off the corner. It’s on cue, not a moment too long or too less, now all they have to do is get the hell out of this place, and they should be home free. Gods he hates this part. 

 

    Everyone around them is looking as they dart through the halls, Janson’s chasing them, yet without thinking he turns around and pulls the trigger. Thomas doesn’t even care whether or not he’s hit anything, the door is slammed shut. He sees Newt and Minho push down a shelf, ah yes, this part. It’s time to dump it into the water, despite it not looking right. The previous few times when he’s come to this point hasn’t made the water look like a vortex, at least not like this. Looking down, the huge tank falls into the water, a small splash from whatever floor they’re on can be seen. 

“Alright, that’s doable.” he mutters as he goes back, this should be able to work. The other two boys follow him, glancing at him as if this plan is wild. Which he agrees, but it’s worked every time so far. “Ready?” 

“We’re all bloody inspired.”

“Great pep talk.” 

The door barges open, and there’s Janson. Thomas wants to fire again, but Newt drags him. There’s the sound of glass breaking as the three of them are out in the open. The pull of gravity makes the fall a short one, Thomas counts in his head, around a minute. 

Splash! 

Splash! 

Splash!

 

The three of them hit the water, without thinking, Thomas swims to the top, and looks around. Minho is on his left after a few seconds but Newt doesn’t appear. He starts to count, there’s always been a delay of around ten seconds before the blond shows up. This time, he doesn’t, and Thomas doesn’t stop to think. He dives back in.  

 

The water is dark, there’s no bottom from the looks of it. Hell, he can barely open his eyes, the water stings. So he fumbles as he ‘dives’ deeper, trying to open his eyes every few seconds trying to find a small patch of yellow. Holding his breath hasn’t helped much, it’s getting harder and harder to keep himself from making a run for some oxygen. The fountain hadn’t been this deep, he thinks before making another dive into the already dark water. What’s happened now has never occurred before. 

 

C’mon. C’mon. Newt, please. Please. No, please. 

 

And he can’t hold his breath anymore. 

 

Thomas is forced to come out of the water, tears beginning to form as he reaches the surface. It feels like the world just ended, there's no colour anymore. None. He recites the spell to go back to the start but it doesn't work. So he recites it again, again, until it finally works. The world fades to white for a few seconds before snapping into focus, colour brimming through the shapes around the room. He wants to give up seeing how even the water has marked itself as an enemy in this game. All Thomas wants is for this to end.


	5. And You're Free, Thomas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title is all you need to know. Thomas is free from resetting, though whether or not he wins the game is to be read below. This is the final part of this fic.

Thomas is feeling surprisingly optimistic about this timeline, everything is going as planned and they’ve managed to reach the WCKD headquarters just like before. It’s still a maze like always but this time, they don’t run into Janson as they go through the compound. Newt is slowly succumbing to the Flare but it’s alright, Thomas has a plan. It’s simple, nothing out of the ordinary. He’ll just carry Newt to the compound and get the Cure from Teresa that way, all he’ll need to do is knock the blond out and it’s home free. It’s just the plan, Thomas-style. 

 

It works, somehow. Thomas refuses to believe it, this timeline feels more like a dream than anything. He’s in the building, carrying Newt bridal style, and all seems well, for the most part. The Cure is the final part and he can be free of this curse of rewatching these horrors. Ava collapses, and there’s Janson on cue, holding a gun. But it’s not pointing at him, no, instead it’s pointed at Newt’s still body. There’s a bang, the next second, Thomas feels a numbness starting to fade in. The world starts to get slightly cloudy, edges melting away. Within a few hours, no minutes, it fades to black. 

 

When he wakes up, he’s strapped to the bed. From the corner of his eyes, there’s Newt, strapped just like him. There’s Teresa giving Newt the Cure and Janson isn’t in sight. Everyone is safe, it’s alright, Thomas let’s himself breath for a second, this is going to be fine. Sure enough, it does, the building still collapses but they get out.  _ All of them.  _

 

The ride to the Safe Haven is a trip to say the least, but it’s alright. Thomas can finally swallow his victory. One which he spent over two years trying to earn, it feels great. He’s a little over eighteen now, and he’s seen his friends die in all the possible ways imaginable. And now, he’s free. Once they reach the island, he joins the others, everyone seems to be having a better time. No new loses, at least not the ones that were supposed to happen. 

 

Thomas goes to sleep that night listening to the waves of the ocean. 

 

Of course when he wakes up, he realizes he’s going  _ back  _ to the Last City. Sleep has reset him back to the beginning, he wants to cry and shout that night, once they reach the City. Something must’ve kept it going despite the fact that sleep hasn’t caused it to happen before. 

 

* * *

 

 

He realizes his own death can also cause it to reset a few timelines later, now the thing is, Thomas doesn’t know how to get  _ out  _ of this loop. No matter how many times, whether it be it, him dying, Newt dying, Thomas is always sent straight back.  _ There has to be a way,  _ he tells himself as he wakes up back in the truck again. 

 

Whenever he dies, it doesn’t bother him much. After all, he can count on one hand, how many times he’s died. Mostly it’s from Janson’s gun or sometimes Newt kills him, which is the worst by far to go through or he just doesn’t make the jump onto the Berg. It’s only a one to hundred ratio in which he died to Newt dying, seeing how some of the timelines only go for a day before he resets. Thomas just doesn’t really care, all he wants to do is leave the loop. So he stops sleeping, not like he could anyways. 

 

* * *

 

 

In desperation, Thomas tries to figure out how to stay in the timeline. Whether it be by throwing the Cure into the ocean, only when Newt is with him, or simply praying that he doesn’t get sent back. So he starts getting reckless, leading to more resets in this war. It’s infuriating, all he wants to do is stay in the timeline where everything works out! From that one timeline that worked, Thomas figures out how to make it work. Same choices and decisions, just a small change in this point and another action change there. Soon, he gets a streak of timelines which Newt and Teresa live to the end. It doesn’t help that he can’t  _ save  _ this damn progress, so it becomes bland. Boring even. All he needs to do is commit the same actions every time, like clockwork. Thomas finds it funny that it took him  _ this  _ long to find the correct path and now he can’t leave. 

 

* * *

 

In the one timeline in which he doesn’t care anymore, since he gets sent back no matter what, Thomas does the one thing he hasn’t done in any other timeline. He opens up Newt’s letter. It just seems like it’s the right thing to do. If this doesn’t work, it doesn’t matter, he’ll just be sent into a parallel timeline again. Rinse and repeat. 

 

* * *

 

 

He can’t stop himself from crying after reading the letter, technically, he’s reading this without Newt knowing in the dead of the night. But it’s the only way if Thomas doesn’t want to go back, he’s grasping at any possible straws. He goes to his hammock in dread. 

 

* * *

 

 

Sleep doesn’t come, or if Thomas takes it. He  _ doesn’t  _ want to leave this timeline. It’s another one of those where everything has worked out, just as planned. No one has died. Leaving would be putting him back to square one. So he turns from side to side until he gets himself to sleep. It’s the first time he gets sleep in who knows how long. 

 

* * *

 

 

The next morning, there’s no rumbling from the cars. There’s the sound of people getting up and going around. He stays. A few more minutes pass, and he deduces that it’s still the Safe Haven. Thomas hasn’t left, he gets out of the hammock with a cry of victory.  _ It’s done.  _ There’s a few others looking at him as though he’s grown an extra head overnight, he doesn’t care. He’s out of the loop, no more repeats, no more deaths. Thomas can  _ finally  _ **_finally_ ** enjoy this lifetime with his friends. 

 

The resets are over, never occurring again. The game is over. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the fic is done! Eve is FREE~ This means that yes, I'll swing around to finish Shank Side Story then it's another multi chaptered fic in the works. Plotting is hard. Anyways, thank you for sticking around as the fic was in progress!! Love you all!!


End file.
